


Where do you run

by allandnothing



Series: The usual bunch of morons but with phds [3]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Professors, Bruce has low self-esteem and Thor is just chaotic gay, M/M, NY wheater, Thor's POV, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, bruce's pov, sleepover time babey, so cheesy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-17
Updated: 2019-03-17
Packaged: 2019-11-19 13:57:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,679
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18136658
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/allandnothing/pseuds/allandnothing
Summary: “You think I don’t want to kiss you?” Thor’s tone was still confused and hurt, but now it was disbelieving too. Bruce groaned softly.“I just- don’t see a reason why you would want to, and my brain just sorts of takes it to mean that you don’t really want to and-““Bruce, I’m literally sitting on your lap right now,”Thor and Bruce have a sleepover. They also happen to be head over heels for each other. That’s it, that’s the fic.





	Where do you run

**Author's Note:**

> Just a couple of dudes being guys  
> A couple of guys being dudes  
> A couple of dudes being gay

Thor anxiously paced up and down his living room, phone pressed so closely to his ear it was probably going to end up leaving a mark.

“Come on, pick it up, Bruce,” he murmured, then swore loudly when Bruce’s phone inevitably went to his voicemail like the previous eight times he tried contacting him. Letting his phone fall on a nearby table, he swirled around and stared out of the living room window. He could swear the snow was staring back at him as it fell from the sky more and more quickly each passing second. 

He and Bruce had decided to meet up again soon after their first museum date- an event that he’s not ashamed to admit left him with constant butterflies in his stomach and a scientist-shaped void at his side- and had ended up deciding on a night in at Thor’s. They were going to eat together, stare at some digital stars Thor was going to project with a lamp he had once bought to hold a lesson to third graders as a favour to his colleague, and maybe most likely probably make out. What could go wrong, right?

A blizzard. A blizzard is what could go wrong.

He had to admit it was partly his fault. After all, it was winter, and if he had decided to trust New York’s weather it was his own fault, but still- nobody would really expect an actual legit snowstorm to ruin your evening with your potential-but-not-official boyfriend.

After the fifth vain call he had called Loki for help or advice- which he did not receive, he wasn’t exactly sure what he was expecting out of his brother but it definitely wasn’t just a loud, long laugh and a _Mother Nature is trying to cockblock you_ , followed by even louder laughs- and now, after the ninth call, he was legitimately considering to send an alpine rescue team after Bruce.

He had just started looking up online some of Bruce’s colleagues to see if he could find their number and ask them about his whereabouts- something his brain considered a fair middle ground between announcing Bruce as MIA and just sulking around until he eventually showed up- when someone rang his doorbell. Leaving everything behind and just barely managing to not drop his phone in surprise, he actually sprang towards the entrance, closing the distance between him and the door in three quick strides. He unceremoniously threw the door open then sighed loudly when he was presented with Bruce on the other side of it.

“Hi, sorry I-“ the scientist started saying, hand reaching up to pull his ridiculous fluffy scarf away from his face, but he was kept from continuing his sentence the moment Thor wrapped him up in a tight hug, with such exuberance he was basically dragged into the apartment by the motion.

“God, I’m pretty sure I was close to getting an aneurysm,” Thor sighed, all of his anxieties melting away as Bruce awkwardly tried to worm his arms out from where they were pressed against Thor’s chest to try and hug him back, “You wouldn’t answer your phone and I thought you had somehow gotten buried alive under the snow.”

Bruce made a soft sound against him that sounded a lot like a snort. He pushed away from him enough to close the door behind his back and squint up at Thor with an expression that suggested the sound was indeed a snort.

“Thor, I’ve lived in New York for most of my life, I’m used to snow by now,” he explained gently, his tone not condescending or patronizing in the least. It was soft, actually, as though he was touched by Thor’s concern for him, but still found him kind of amusing. He decided not to dwell on that.

“Well, it’s not like you develop an immunity to snow just by living in a cold city for a while,” he scoffed, and Bruce just dismissed him with a light wave.

“If the weather wants to kill me it’ll have to try harder,” he said jokingly, and Thor was about to comment on that- how dare the weather even think about killing him- but his eyes fell on what Bruce was holding in his right hand. He noticed him looking so he just held the tote bag up for him, “I brought some snacks.”

Thor’s heart grew a few sizes, for some reason.

“You brought me snacks?” he asked, weirdly touched by the event. He felt like some primitive ancestral part of him was impressed that his partner had brought him food as a gift, or maybe he was just really starved for the simplest of affections, “I almost made you die of frostbite because I didn’t even check the weather before asking you to come over and you even went and brought me something to eat?”

Bruce sighed as he took off his boots, his coat, his scarf, his hat, and his gloves. It was enough layers to keep him occupied for a couple of minutes, “I didn’t check the weather either, and nobody died. It’s okay, Thor. It’s actually my fault too, I didn’t even bother to keep an eye on my phone in case you called and only saw your missed calls when I was in the elevator.”

He was still unconvinced and was about to apologize again, but Bruce seemed to not want anything of the sort because he redirected him towards the tote bag, asking him to get some snacks ready for the night as he hopped from foot to foot, evidently having a disagreement with his left boot.

As he set the groceries away in his kitchen, Thor pointedly avoided the way they all seemed to fit right at home there, just like Bruce did in his heart.

God, was he sick? What was going on with all of this sappiness?

When he came back in the living room he found Bruce curiously staring at one of the photos at the entrance, now devoid of all his extra layers. He seemed even smaller than he usually did. Holding two cans of coke in one hand and a bag of chips in the other, he came up behind Bruce and the scientist turned around as if he had just been caught stealing something.

“This is Loki, right?” he asked, posting towards the dark haired boy in the picture. His previously hidden jumper was a little big for him which made its sleeve come up to his knuckles. It was oddly endearing.

“That is him, yes,” Thor hummed, setting the snacks down on the coffee table before approaching Bruce to look at the picture himself. It was the day of Loki’s high school graduation, Thor was standing right next to him for the picture, and it looked like a rebellious rock star was being chaperoned by his lawyer, “You really wouldn’t guess that he’s adopted would you?”

Bruce let out a small wheeze, leaning forward to better see the photo, “He’s at university, right? What is he studying?”

“At the moment, nothing,” he unconsciously leaned his arm on Bruce’s shoulder- it was just a reflex, he was right there and small enough for it to be comfortable- and he tensed up like a violin string, but the scientist didn’t seem bothered by the action, preferring to lightly touch the nose of the small dinosaur toy sat near the frame in question, “He’s going through a mid-life crisis- that’s how he calls it, he says he has no way of knowing at what age he’ll be at the middle of his life so he prefers to just have an ongoing crisis- and doesn’t know what to major in. He’s currently working with me at university as an assistant, mostly as a way to keep him occupied."

“I want to meet him, someday,” said Bruce, straightening up. He seemed to realize that his words might have been a bit forward because he immediately blushed, both his cheeks and his ears colouring quickly, “If that’s okay with you, I wouldn't want to impose-“

“Oh, you do need to meet him,” Thor nodded enthusiastically, wondering what he could do to make Bruce understand exactly how much he was wanted in his life, “It took me forever to convince him and my colleagues of your existence. None of them believed you were real but Loki knew who you are and claimed there was no way we were-“

He abruptly stopped his sentence, preferring to end it by awkwardly pointing between the two of them in a quick and elaborate motion that he was sure must mean something in ASL. Bruce just gave him a confused frown, looking at his finger and then at him.

“Together?”, he suggested.

“Yep, that,” he rubbed the back of his head, and Bruce’s expression morphed from confused to surprised to softly amused. Slowly, without breaking eye contact with him, he lifted his hand until it wrapped around Thor’s wrist and took it off his shoulder.

“Don’t overthink it,” he said around a smile, and before Thor could reply he brought his hand up to his lips and left a quick kiss on its back. It was an unexpected sensation he hadn’t prepared for- Bruce was a good eight inches smaller than him so he always assumed if anyone was going to have their hands kissed like that it was going to be him- and one that left him with shivers along his spine.

Bruce let go his hand and he cleared his throat loudly, trying and failing to regain some sort of dignity.

“Shall we-“ he squealed, a sound that would’ve embarrassed him if the other man wasn't trying to bite back an adorable laugh, “Do what- whatever we were meant to do tonight before I implode?”

Bruce laughed loudly, head falling forwards until it was leaning against Thor’s chest, and he felt the butterflies in his stomach take off like jet engines.

 

* * *

 

‘Whatever’ they were meant to do that night was actually Thor’s idea. He wanted to take Bruce stargazing, something he was an expert in, what with the astronomy degree and all, and something that was a guaranteed romantic date, but with the cold they had to resort to Thor’s old star projector lamp, and its unrealistic purple light. 

“Just so you know, there is a good chance that this is going to catch on fire,” he casually said, plugging the lamp into the wall and fiddling with it.

“The elements are really out to get me tonight, huh?” Bruce muttered, already busy shoving chips in his mouth like a starved man. The walk through the cold blizzard outside must’ve exhausted him, poor thing, he needed more food so he could stack back up on the calories he lost. He should go and fetch him more food from the kitchen, along with a blanket- or two, or three.

Thor turned off the light a bit too violently, leaving the room completely in the dark except for the light coming from the street through the window, almost hidden behind the constantly falling snow. He had no idea what kind of wolf brain had possessed him that night but it needed to _chill_.

He crossed the living room with a couple of long strides and pulled the curtains over the windows, making the house even darker than before. That seemed to attract Bruce’s attention because he sat up straighter on the couch, bag of chips between his crossed legs.

“Doctor Bruce Banner,” Thor said, in mock-seriousness, hands behind his back like he was about to give an important lecture, “Thank you for joining me tonight. Please allow me to take you on a quick and vaguely cheap journey through-“ he jumped forward and pushed the button to activate the lamp, “Space!”

Nothing happened.

He pressed the button again, with no result.

Bruce giggled, then coughed to try and cover it up.

He punched the lamp, and it finally came to life.

“Space!” he repeated with the same enthusiasm as before, spreading his arms as if he had just performed a complicated magic trick. The whole room was now filled with stars, planets, and constellations, slowly and calmly drifting around in a clockwise motion on the deep purple background.

“That’s actually not half bad,” Bruce commented, looking around the room in amazement. He laughed softly when he saw that Thor was partially standing in the lamp’s beam and was therefore covered in stars.

“How dare you doubt the quality of my 20$ stars projector that I only bought to keep a bunch of elementary kids occupied as a favour to a friend,” he scoffed, making his way to the couch to sit beside the other man, “I’ll have you know it’s actually not that inaccurate, scientifically speaking.”

“Is that the lamp’s logo projected in the corner there?”

“You know what,” Thor took the bag of chips out of Bruce’s lap, shoving a good dozen of them in his mouth, “Less talking, more stargazing.”

As it turned out, Bruce was a much more active participant than the bunch of elementary kids Brunnhilde had begged him to look after- their department had organized a small exhibit for the local school and she was charged with entertaining them with the stars projector, something she was not happy with- and the next hour and a half was spent with Thor pointing out everything he knew about stars while Bruce added what he had studied about astrophysics, pleasant banter setting between the two of them. At one point, after they had eaten something more substantial than just chips, they had decided to lay down on the carpet, trying to simulate an actual stargazing session, and if Bruce found it funny when Thor unsubtly put an arm around him he didn’t let it on.

Once there was nothing else to point out about the limited galaxy they had before them, and once Thor’s eyes started tearing with the effort of staring at such bright lights for so long, he stood up to turn the lamp off. He did so as slowly as possible, trying to stretch the moment for as long as Bruce allowed him- he _really_ didn’t want him to go, and for that night to be over.

“Did you know that our solar system seems to have a tenth planet that nobody has actually seen and we’re just assuming the existence of based on its orbital warping?” Bruce said, looking down at his phone almost nervously, and Thor- who taught astronomy as a living and obviously knew that already, and knew that Bruce was aware of the fact- had a feeling it was a way to keep the conversation going so that they wouldn’t have to call it a day. An adorable way, that is.

“Oh, so you’re considering Pluto a planet, huh?”

“Of course I am. _Viva la Pluto_ and all of that. I think-“ Bruce suddenly frowned, looking at his phone in concern, “Oh, fuck.”

Thor stopped fiddling with the lamp to look at him amusedly, “You think oh fuck?”

Bruce didn’t reply, and instead just stood up and walked quickly to the window, throwing the curtains aside. Thor immediately followed, concerned, and when he came to a stop next to the other man he understood why he had reacted that way.

Saying that it was snowing hard would’ve been a euphemism. What usually was a pretty crowded street was now completely empty and covered in white, and it didn’t seem to want to stop anytime soon. He got goosebumps just by looking at it.

“Oh, fuck,” he agreed. There was no way it was safe to try and walk through such a blizzard.

“News’s saying to stay indoors and avoid going outside until at least tomorrow morning,” Bruce said, as though he had read his mind, and Thor became intensely aware of the fact that he was technically kept from going home, at least safely.

They looked out of the window mournfully, as if the snow would melt if they stared hard enough.

It didn’t, it just piled in taller and taller heaps the longer they watched.

“I should get going before it becomes impossible to reach the subway,” Bruce sighed, hugging his own chest with his arms as if he too was getting cold just by looking at the snow outside.

Thor glanced at him, stomach twisting in knots. He knew it was the only logical solution- like _hell_ he was letting Bruce walk out in the middle of an actual blizzard- and that Bruce was probably waiting for him to offer the idea, but he still felt oddly nervous by proposing to just have him sleep there.

Which, let’s be honest, was quite ridiculous. They had been super comfortable with each other the whole evening- the whole time they have known each other, actually- they had joked and flirted around, Bruce had _kissed him_ last time they went out, there was nothing to suggest he wouldn’t want to sleep over at his place.

Finally, taking a deep breath, Thor decided to pick up some courage and just ask, before Bruce made the decision for himself and went out in the snow. It sounded like something he would do if it meant avoiding asking for what he wanted.

“I think it would be better if you just slept here,” he murmured, nerves making his voice drop lower than he would’ve wished for. Bruce looked up at him then, something soft and questioning in his gaze. He wasn’t always the best at reading people, but that was a hopeful look if he knew one.

“You sure it wouldn’t be a problem?” he asked softly, arms still tight around himself. He looked so cute Thor just wanted to swoop him up in a hug and carry him to bed to cuddle away the bad weather. He had to take another deep breath to keep himself from doing just that.

Instead of telling Bruce just how much it wouldn’t be a problem to have him sleep at his place, he titled his head and gave him a once-over with a smirk, “It’s not like you’re taking up much space, anyway.”

Bruce scoffed and lightly punched him in the arm to hide his smile, and Thor beamed. He thought it would’ve taken longer to convince the stubborn scientist- it was almost like he made it his life mission to deny himself what he actually wanted- but he seemed already won over.

“I don’t have anything to sleep in,” he weakly argued, lifting his arms as if to prove the point. Thor clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth before heading for his bedroom. He expected Bruce to follow him as he rummaged through his drawer for something he would be comfortable to wear to bed, but instead he just hovered at the threshold, like a dog that knew it wasn’t allowed to enter certain parts of the house. It was oddly endearing, the fact that he was so respectful of Thor’s personal space, but it only made it harder for him to explain that there was no need for such precautions.

“Here,” he said when he finally found a pair of sweatpants and an old worn-out t-shirt from his college days, “These should fit. There’s also a spare toothbrush in the cabinet over the sink, you can use that.”

He handed them to Bruce and watched him walk away towards the bathroom after a soft thank you, the action so domestic it made his heart clench almost painfully.

Right.

Shaking the feeling off, he decided to set himself to making the bed for Bruce in the living room. As much as he wanted to snuggle with him, he thought it would be better to just let the tiny scientist set the pace of their intimacy. He knew he wasn’t exactly the most open when it came to acting on his feelings- which made their first kiss even the more surprising- and he really didn’t want to scare him off with his affection.

It didn’t take him long to set up the bed, and when he was done he decided to make his way to the window again while he waited for Bruce to be done in the bathroom. The streets were completely empty, snow still steadily and quickly setting itself upon them, and he worried whether they were going to be able to get to university on Monday.

He was so lost in his thoughts that he didn’t hear Bruce approach him until he felt his light footsteps stop right behind him. Before he could turn around, the man leaned forward until his head was against Thor’s back, and he tensed up involuntarily. When it was clear that he wasn’t going to move away, he relaxed and turned his head to glance at Bruce, being sure not to jostle him.

It felt pretty much like sitting still to make sure the cat that had suddenly decided to sit on you was as comfortable as possible. A particularly cute cat, that is.

Bruce mumbled something against the back of his shirt but it was so quiet he missed it.

“What’s that?” he asked, almost like a whisper. He felt like something was missing from this impromptu embrace and he realized it would be much better if Bruce’s arms were around his middle instead of at his sides. He decided to enjoy what he had and stop being greedy.

“I said thank you,” clarified Bruce, turning his head to the side to make sure to be heard. There was no way he couldn’t hear Thor’s heart hammering like crazy now that he had his ear pressed against his back, “For letting me sleep here, I mean.”

“You really thought I was going to let you go out and freeze yourself to death?” he scoffed jokingly, turning around to better look at him. He was happily surprised to see that instead of moving away Bruce just kept the whole head-leaning thing going, this time on his chest, “You offend me.”

“I mean, of course not,” he finally straightened up to look at Thor, and he seemed to not notice the way the other man swayed forward for a second with the loss of contact, “But it’s still nice to be wanted here.”

Although that’s what he had been aiming for the whole evening- to make sure Bruce knew that he was wanted and that he was exactly where Thor had been longing him to be since he first laid his eyes on him- he still felt himself blush furiously under the scientist’s gaze.

Instead of addressing his feelings like a mature adult, he looked down at what Bruce was wearing and smiled.

“Mhm, seems to be a bit too large for you, eh?” he picked at the hem of his shirt, that was hanging over Bruce in a ridiculously adorable way and exposed his collarbone to Thor’s eyes. It suddenly dawned on him that his clothes were going to smell like Bruce after that night and they suddenly became his favourite clothes ever.

Bruce frowned at him in mock-offence, “Not all of us are six foot two of pure muscle, you know?”

That’s another thing that shouldn’t have made him blush- it wasn’t even a compliment, it was just a fact, let’s be real- but that still made him flustered when it came from Bruce. He tried to hide it by jokingly flexing for the scientist, and was pleased to see his face heat up too.

“Oh shut up, you like it,” he flirted easily, and Bruce waved his hands to stop him.

“Alright, alright, macho-man,” he laughed, gently pulling at his arms to make him stop and head him towards the now empty bathroom, “Go change, I’ll look for something to watch on Netflix.”

He tried to come up with some smart retort but his mind went completely blank when he realized what Bruce was suggesting. With the new very real possibility of snuggling up to watch some mediocre movie on Netflix, he hurried to the bathroom to get himself ready to sleep (something he was not going to do anytime soon for sure).

When he emerged from the bathroom, all fresh mouth and soft clothes, he found Bruce still browsing through the lists of movies and tv shows, all cuddled up on one side of the sofa bed. His heart almost melted at the sight.

“Either we put up some documentary and call it a day or we’re going to stay here for ages looking for something to watch,” he said as Thor made his way towards the bed. He had meant to go immediately to sleep in his own room to make sure his traitorous mind didn’t linger too hard on the scientist sleeping in the room next to him but now that he had been invited him to watch a movie together every single nerve of his body was standing up, basically begging him to get close to Bruce. He would’ve ruled that out as touch-starvation but he was pretty sure that was just the effect the man had on him.

Ignoring all of his instincts, he sat opposite to Bruce, acting like his heart wasn't about to beat out of his chest, “A documentary sounds good to me” he shrugged, getting under the covers slowly, as though dealing with a particularly feisty animal. Respecting personal space was a thing, but he didn’t want his calves to freeze in the not so warm living room. Bruce didn’t seem fazed in the least by that so he sighed in relief as the other man selected a Bill Nye documentary.

After his initial nervousness, he found himself relaxing beside Bruce as the two of them commented everything that was going on on the screen like the science nerds they were. It was about half an hour in that he noticed the way Bruce was slowly but surely inching towards him. He seemed to be playing dumb, his eyes still fixed on the screen and his comments no less interesting, but he was definitely moving. Forty-five minutes in, he was halfway between the opposite sides of the couch, and Thor couldn’t hold himself back any more. Slowly, making sure he wasn’t startling him- even though his previous actions showed him that there was no need for such precautions- he scooted towards the centre himself, until he and Bruce were side by side, barely touching.

Bruce finally acknowledged the situation by looking up at him, all nervous eyes and frowned eyebrows, “Can I..?”

Thor didn’t even know what he was asking for, but he still nodded readily. He knew there was not a single thing he wouldn’t have done for Bruce Banner.

Tentatively, Bruce curled himself against Thor, arms tucked around his chest and cheek pressed against his arm. Thor definitely heard the way the other man held his breath at the contact before he lifted his own arm and wrapped it around Bruce’s shoulders. Not to pull him closer, although he really wanted to, just to make sure he knew his sudden affection was more than welcome.

Bruce seemed to relax at that, if the soft sigh that escaped him was anything to go by, and went back to watching the documentary, happiness radiating off of him in almost palpable waves. Settling himself more comfortably against the back of the couch, Thor tried to focus back on whatever Bill was talking about, but his mind was far too preoccupied with the man in his arms to make sense of anything that was going on on screen.

The rest of the movie went by smoothly, Bruce’s comments becoming more and more sporadic while his body became heavier against Thor. When the documentary finally ended he wasn’t surprised to find him soundly asleep, mouth half open and glasses crooked on his nose. He probably shouldn’t have found him as attractive as he did, what with the thin line of drool hanging from his bottom lip and all, but if Thor had any other doubt about his feelings for the scientist that moment certainly made it known just how much he was falling for him.

Slowly, trying not to wake him, he eased Bruce out from under his arm and laid him down on the mattress. His left arm was mostly asleep after having been under the other man for so long, but he was more worried about making sure Bruce’s glasses weren’t bent, carefully closing them and setting them on the nearby coffee table. He pulled the blanket up to his shoulders while making sure he was snug under them, turned off the tv, and tried to convince himself to go to sleep in his own bed. It was a hard battle, sitting down on the couch just a foot away from the sleeping man, and without meaning to his hand made its way to Bruce’s head, fingers delicately ranking through his soft curls.

He didn’t mean to wake him up, but when Bruce blinked slowly and looked up at him in confusion he didn’t take his hand away and repeated the motion when he just smiled up at him sleepily.

“Hello,” he rasped, voice already low with sleep even though he hadn’t been out for long. He reached up a hand towards Thor’s own, still in his curls, and before he could pull it away he was weakly gripping his wrist, dragging it towards his chest so that he could lace their fingers together, “What are you doing over there?”

“Waking you up, apparently,” he whispered, squeezing Bruce’s hand playfully. He squeezed back, pulling it more tightly against his chest and well, how was a man supposed to go to sleep now, “Sorry, I didn’t mean to, I was about to go to bed.”

Bruce blinked up at him confusedly, and an adorable frown took its place on his forehead, “Oh, you’re sleeping in your bed?”

Did he seem… disappointed?

“Well, yeah, technically…” he said, not really caring about what he was supposed to be and not be doing. His hand was still curled around Bruce’s own, and he was having a hard time making his last two brain cells cooperate and make him stand up instead of thinking dumb gay thoughts.

“You can sleep here if you want…” Bruce mumbled, still looking up at Thor expectantly.

He knew he should’ve said no, stood up, and went to sleep in his own bed- after all Bruce hadn’t drunk, but he was not exactly coherent, was he?- but listen. He’s just a man. He has his weaknesses. And apparently, a sleepy Bruce Banner looking up at him through his lashes while wearing his clothes and laying on his couch met all of them.

Nodding wordlessly, he stood up long enough to pull back his part of the covers and slide in bed, his other hand still occupied with Bruce. He made sure to leave some space between them- in case Bruce regretted his choice in the morning- but he couldn’t bring himself to pull his hand away.

Bruce seemed surprised by the whole deal if his raised eyebrows were anything to go by, but he soon relaxed back into the sofa, sleepy lazy smile back on his face.

“Well, goodnight, then,” he whispered, pressing Thor’s hand to his chest. It was close enough he could feel his heartbeat.

“Night, dear,” he whispered back, the term of endearment slipping out without his consent. Bruce only smiled more at that, not bothered enough to open his eyes, and Thor fell asleep to that sight.

 

 

* * *

 

It took Bruce a while to fully wake up, moving through the groggy phase of the morning where he slowly drifted from mere awareness to full consciousness. He could immediately tell he wasn’t in his own bed, both because of how well-rested he felt- something that happened extremely rarely for someone whose nights were ruined bit nightmares or whatever part of his body had decided to start hurting eight out of ten times- and because of the heavy weight he felt around his ribcage, some sort of limb that he was sure didn’t belong to him. 

After a couple of tries and after convincing his brain to cooperate and start the day, he opened his eyes and sure enough found Thor laying directly in front of him, still soundly asleep. His face was half squished against his pillow and his jaw was slacked, and the weight that Bruce had noticed turned out to be one of his arms, throw over him in what must've been an unconscious gesture- it was bent in what seemed to be an uncomfortable position and Bruce was left to ponder whether he should wake the other man up or not.

It turned out that he didn’t need to ask himself such questions because before he could move a muscle- and do something stupid like listen to his own desires for once in his life and reach across the small space between them to run his fingers through the other man’s hair- he accidentally sneezed, loudly and unexpectedly. He managed to turn around and away from Thor but that wasn’t enough to avoid startling him awake, something that he did not even half a second after that.

“Ugh,” he groaned, sluggishly, not fully aware of his surroundings. It didn’t take long for his brain to adjust, though, because not even five seconds after that he started yelping, tiredly trying to pull his wandering arm towards himself “Ow, ow, ow- what is that?”

Bruce took pity on him and helped him out of the uncomfortable position, and that seemed to connect a couple of dots in Thor’s brain because he widened his eyes while looking at him.

“I’m sorry,” mumbled, voice rough with sleep in a way that made Bruce feel all sorts of things, and it was too early to already mess with his emotions like that, “It seems like my arm decided to be touchy during the night”

The way his hair was all unkempt, his eyes still glassy with sleep, and the sunlight was flowing around his scar was almost too much for Bruce, all at once. He felt the back of his eyes pitching, as though he was ready to cry, and he decided to talk before he could do something so embarrassing like start sobbing over how beautiful Thor was.

“It’s okay, really,” he couldn’t stop his hand from reaching out to touch Thor’s hair, and the way the other man closed his eyes happily against his touch almost made him drop everything and ask him to marry him, “Sleepy you is just cuddly, it’s cute."

Thor groaned unhappily, as though disagreeing, “I could kick your ass.”

The threat would’ve been more effective is Thor hadn’t been basically arching up against Bruce’s hand like a cat, “Oh, I know.”

Thor seemed satisfied with the answer because he smiled before fluttering his blue eyes open to gaze at Bruce with interest. He didn’t understand how he could put himself on the line like that, showing his affection for him in total honesty, without feeling the need to hide, but it was something he admired in him.

“Hello,” he murmured, seeming to scan Bruce’s face and torso up and down, as though he was checking to make sure he was still in one piece.

“Hello,” Bruce echoed, pulling his arm away. Thor didn’t comment on it but he thought he saw a flash of disappointment cross his eyes for a moment, “Slept well?”

“Very much, so,” the other man nodded enthusiastically, “Which is unusual for me, considering I wake up at least twice during my nights for no real reason.”

“You know, same,” Bruce tried to pull himself up on his elbows but his arm didn’t even move to try, “It’s like sleeping together makes us calmer, or something of the sort.”

Thor lifted his eyebrows as if they had just made a huge discovery, “That is a great theory. But if you allow me, I think we need to collect more data. Perhaps we could repeat the experiment again any time soon?”

They both ended up laughing like idiots, somehow getting closer than before in their early morning euphoria. Bruce could tell because when he looked up again towards Thor he found him less than a foot away from him, already gazing at him intensely. When he lifted his hand to reach over and graze his jaw he didn't even tense up, already expecting the touch.

He smiled at him, eyes still glazed over with sleep as his thumb traced the line of his jaw. When he reached his mouth he stopped and Bruce couldn’t help exhaling through his half-open mouth, trying not to shy under Thor’s eyes- which coincidentally fell on his lips in that exact moment.

“You kissed me last time,” he said, voice just above a whisper. He knew he did- he was there, after all, and he was an active participant in it- but hearing Thor mention it made it all seem more real. Like it all had a purpose, “It surprised me.”

By the sound of it it was a good surprise, so Bruce smiled lopsidedly, bottom lip worrying at the other man’s thumb, “It surprised me, too.”

Thor smiled in return, then his eyes quickly fell again on Bruce’s mouth, “Shall I take initiative for the second one?”

Every single nerve in Bruce’s body stood up to attention and his last brain cell stopped bouncing around his head like a screensaver to focus on the man in front of him that was pretty much beaming at him while cupping his jaw, “If you want to.”

Thor gave him a confusedly amused frown, then he scooted closer to him- slowly, as though Bruce was an easily startled animal that he didn’t want to scare off. He tried to make a point by looking as comfortable as possible while he just wanted to scream into his pillow like a teenager girl, but when Thor lowered his head until their noses were touching he couldn’t help holding his breath in anticipation. He didn’t even have time to cringe at how loud that intake was before Thor barked out a surprised laugh right to his face.

“Don’t _inhale_ , you moron,” he snickered, evidently finding the whole situation funnier than embarrassing, which made Bruce feel not as mortified as he would usually feel. He tucked his head under Bruce’s chin in a poor attempt at hiding his giggles, his whole body shaking with them, his hand still gently locked behind the other man’s head.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry-“ he tried saying, but soon he was laughing too, nose pressed into Thor’s short hair. Whatever nervousness he had been feeling until then completely disappeared (thanks, serotonin), and when Thor finally looked back up at him, eyes slightly wet with laughter, he felt as comfortable as one would be with an old-time partner. So when Thor tried to close the distance between them again he didn’t tense, but rather lifted his chin up a little to meet him eagerly.

He would have been lying if he said he hadn’t thought about kissing Thor since their first kiss (and before it, too, if we want to be fair and square), but it was absolutely nothing like the real thing. They had some trouble at first, since both of them were grinning too hard to be properly kissing, but once the euphoria wore off he was left with Thor capturing his upper lip between his own as the hand that was around his neck moved to his hair. It didn’t move for a while, and when he understood that he was actually waiting for Bruce to consent to this kind of touch he nodded, or did whatever kind of asserting head motion he could while he was being kissed within an inch of his life. Thor took the hint and let his hand drag through his grey curls and Bruce- who was already proved to not be the best at controlling his voice responses- let out a soft groan at the contact.

Thor took the occasion to pull away just enough to breathe and smile at him but not enough for Bruce to complain about the separation because after a second he was back, more confident than before. Bruce’s hands wandered until they found Thor’s shirt and grasped it in an attempt to keep him where he was- although it didn’t look like he planned to go anywhere any time soon- and when the tip of Thor’s tongue gently grazed across his lip he involuntarily clenched his fists in it.

Thor seemed to misinterpret his signals because not even half a second after that he was pulling away with a guarded gaze, tearing a pathetic whine out of Bruce. He opened his mouth to speak- most likely to make sure Bruce was 100% comfortable with what was going on, bless this man, he didn’t deserve him- but he beat him to it.

“I don’t want to sound dramatic but if you don’t come back here immediately I think I will literally die,” he said quite straightforwardly, loving the surprised laugh that he caused. Thor didn’t need to be told twice and after a moment he was back pressed against him from head to toe, closer than before if possible. This time it wasn’t a surprise when he started deepening the kiss and Bruce immediately opened up his mouth, but not without a full body shiver that made Thor chuckle into his mouth, and that was a whole new sensation for him.

He didn’t want to sound cheesy or overly romantic, but with Thor kissing him like that, gently and almost reverently exploring his mouth while his hand drew nonsensical patterns on his scalp, he felt worshipped. His brain supplied a better verb for him- _loved, you feel loved_ \- but he decided to ignore it for the moment, preferring to let one of his hands wander towards Thor’s neck.

That was when the other man suddenly pulled back from him, almost like he was struck by lighting, and Bruce regretted everything he had ever done with his life.

“Wait, wait, hold up a second,” he said, holding Bruce’s head between his hands with an odd kind of intensity that was probably meant to make him pay attention to him. With the way Thor’s lips had changed colour under Bruce’s own- _I did that, that was my doing_ \- it was kind of a hard task.

Thor seemed to realize that too because he mumbled something under his breath before rolling over and on top of Bruce with a quickness that surprised the scientist. Holding himself up with his knees he gently pulled Bruce’s hands over his head to hold them still on the mattress and gazed at him inquisitively.

Whatever he needed to tell him, sitting up like that above him he surely had his attention.

“Did you mean what you said earlier?” he asked, suddenly serious. It was an odd look on him, what with his slightly swollen lips and bed hair. Bruce could also feel that his too-large shirt had ridden up, exposing both his collarbones and part of his stomach, and he was having a hard time concentrating.

“Uhm,” he said, eloquently. He then looked down to where Thor was sitting right above his lap and up to where he was holding his hands still, “I feel like we’re about to have a serious conversation but you really chose the worst of ways to start it off.”

Thor frowned at him adorably and seemed not to know what to do with himself for a second- he probably wanted to pinch Bruce or something and then realized he couldn’t with his hands occupied as they were, “When you said ‘if you want to’, was that a bit or did you mean it?”

Ah.

Bruce looked to the side and started fidgeting with his hands before he realized he couldn’t. Thor was keeping him trapped so that he couldn’t avoid the conversation.

The bastard.

“Bruce?”

“Kind of, yeah,” he admitted, deciding to focus on Thor’s scar on his face rather than his actual eyes. He had always made throwaway jokes using his insecurities and low self-esteem as the punchline but nobody had actually questioned him so seriously about it. Nobody that wasn’t his therapist, that is. His friends tried to ask him about it a couple of times, but they had guessed that was his own ways to cope with things, and it kind of was.

“Why?”, was Thor’s next question, and the confusion in his voice made Bruce look back up at him. He was genuinely confused and also… a little hurt? That’s not good.

“I just-“ he sighed. He tried again to rub his eyes but his hands were still restricted so he just let his head fall back on the mattress and looked up at the ceiling, “I sometimes joke about myself- it’s cool, it’s nothing too self-destructive and I’m working on it- and sometimes things just get a little too real?”

He ended the sentence with a lift that made it sound like a question, but it really wasn’t. He just wasn’t ready to confess to Thor exactly how inadequate he felt compared to him.

“You think I don’t want to kiss you?” Thor’s tone was still confused and hurt, but now it was disbelieving too. Bruce groaned softly.

“I just- don’t see a reason _why_ you would want to, and my brain just sorts of takes it to mean that you don’t really _want_ to and-“

“Bruce, I’m literally sitting on your lap right now,” he decided to emphasize his point by lowering himself until he was actually straddling Bruce’s upper thighs and the other man had to close his eyes and count to ten. He was going to kill him.

“I’m aware,” he rasped out, cheeks flushing, “And I know that you do want to kiss me, but sometimes my trash brain decides to question even the most obvious things and there’s little I can do to stop it,” he opened his eyes again and saw that Thor was looking differently at him. More softly.

“I can work with that,” he simply replied. He said so solemnly, like he knew how important the whole deal was for Bruce, and the scientist felt his heart swell. His trash brain yelled at him that he was lying, that he was a monster for forcing him to ‘work with it’ and that he was selfish for bothering Thor with his insecurities, but all of those thoughts were thrown out of the window when one of his wrists was freed by Thor’s hand wandering down to his collarbone. He touched the bone delicately, sliding his finger along it like it was the most precious thing in the world, and for a moment Bruce let himself feel like he was, “And for the record, there’s not a single minute that passes in which I don’t want to kiss the ever-living hell out of you.”

He smiled at him cheekily, and that was all the warning Bruce had before he lowered himself until he could kiss Bruce’s clavicle peeking out of his shirt, his lips lingering there for a second longer than strictly necessary, “I have been meaning to do this since you put this on yesterday.”

Bruce had a feeling- he had not missed the way Thor’s eyes had ranked over him when he had stepped out of the bathroom wearing his clothes that smelled like him- but he didn’t have time to voice it because next Thor moved up to kiss his jaw softly. He didn’t even bother to hide the shiver that ran through him, “Since I met you.”

Bruce’s hands were now both free but he let himself just feel the moment, and when Thor cupped his cheeks and moved to kiss his mouth he welcomed him eagerly. The kiss was chaste and delicate and it made every single one of his muscles melt like wax. When Thor pulled away he stayed where he was, propped up on his elbows. Bruce’s hands moved down so that he could wrap them around his arms, smiling so much he was sure his cheeks were going to hurt for a few days, “Since you told me on one of our coffee dates about that one Pixar short with the kitty and the dog that made you cry.”

He laughed, nuzzling Thor’s arm, “That cat was just _so_ small,” he looked up at Thor again, and was almost overwhelmed to see him staring back at him with so much love he honestly couldn’t understand how he could function normally with it filling his entire chest, “I might need you to reassure me sometimes.”

Thor winked at him, half cheekily half lovingly, “Well that’s what I’m here for, love,” and he kissed him again.

 

* * *

 

 

The rest of the early morning settled itself calmingly but surely, much like the snow that was still slowly falling outside. It took them a while to get out of bed, both too reluctant to leave the warmth of the blankets and the other person, but when they did- much more flustered than before and with Bruce’s jaw hurting in an unfamiliar but not unpleasant way- they set off to prepare some breakfast, moving through the kitchen in some sort of silent waltzer. 

Somehow, they were closer and more comfortable with one another than they were the prior day. Thor felt confident enough to steal a kiss from Bruce any time he felt like it while the tiny scientist was relaxed enough to let himself stay pressed up against the other man’s back like he did the night before but with his arms around his waist this time. His hands hitched to sneak under Thor’s shirt and caress the smooth skin of his abdomen in a casual manner, but he decided it was too early in the relationship for that. He and his hands could wait.

Bruce had offered an explanation for their sudden closeness that he had once read online- apparently people that fall asleep together will wake up more comfortable with one another, and Thor just gave him a look that seemed to say _that doesn’t sound right but I don’t know enough about human psychology to dispute it_ \- while Thor didn’t bother to question it and just enjoyed the moment for what it was. And his idea of enjoyment involved making pancakes for the two of them while occasionally leaning down to press his lips to Bruce’s cheeks, forehead, jaw, neck, and collarbone. They had both decided to make his mouth off limits when they got so lost in one of their kisses that one of the pancakes burnt until it became solid black.

When they finally sat down at the living room table to eat the sudden distance felt almost disorienting, having been so close to one another until then, and they both laughed nervously to ease off the odd sensation.

“God, if this is how our second official date is we truly are going to be the most insufferable of boyfriends,” Thor joked through a piece of pancake- smeared with way more maple syrup that Bruce was entirely okay with- and the scientist’s heart made a weird acrobatic motion in his chest at the b-word. Thor seemed to notice- Bruce had a feeling he unconsciously whimpered- and he looked up in alarm, “That’s okay with you, right? Being a couple?”

Bruce almost laughed right at his face- his lips were still visibly darker than they were before their makeup session on the couch, was he kidding him?- but the pure anxiety that he saw run across Thor’s face stopped him and made him reach across the table to grab his hand and wind their fingers together. That seemed to calm him down a bit, “Absolutely, but I’m more worried about the boyfriend part,” he awkwardly scratched at the back of his head, hyper-aware of the other man’s eyes on him, “Is that how you would introduce me to your friends and family?”

Thor squinted at him for a second, then the pieces seemed to connect themselves in his head because he seemed amused, “Bruce, you’re only six years older than me.”

“It just sounds so youngish!”

“You don’t outgrow romantic labels, Bruce.”

“I sound like a sad middle-aged dad trying to connect with the youth!”

“Well, what other term do you have to offer?” Thor shoved the rest of his pancake in his mouth with a single bite without breaking eye contact, which was weirdly attractive? In a way? Was that a normal thing to find hot? His hormones were all over the place, man, “I’m not calling you my partner. That sounds like we’re working on a powerpoint presentation for a middle school science project.”

Bruce laughed, working through his own breakfast, “I don’t have any suggestions, actually. There’s 'significant other' but that’s such a mouthful, isn’t it?”

“Sounds like you’re stuck with being called my boyfriend then,” Thor smiled, rubbing tiny circles on his wrist in a way that didn’t seem fully conscious, “Boyfriend.”

“That’s it,” Bruce announced, shoving the last piece of breakfast in his mouth and flushing it down with a sip of orange juice, “We’re getting married immediately so we can call each other ‘husband’ instead.”

He expected Thor to laugh at his joke but instead, he just turned red so quickly it ought to be a record, eyes still fixed on Bruce in a way that made it seem like he was screaming inside. They didn’t get the opportunity to unpack all of that- and _thank_ _god_ for that- because Bruce’s phone suddenly went off with a notification, and it was so loud he actually jumped a good three inches off his chair. He scrambled for it, all of his responsibilities and appointments of the week coming crashing down on him unceremoniously, and when he turned back Thor’s face had schooled into a natural expression.

“Ugh, shit,” Bruce hissed, reading over the message Tony had just sent him along with an assortment of random emojis. He briefly wondered if it was some sort of code he was expected to decipher, “I’m supposed to meet with a friend in fifteen minutes. I completely forgot.”

“I take it as a compliment,” Thor joked, looking Bruce over in an absurdly unsubtle way that still made the other man blush and feel butterflies in his stomach, “Come on, then. Up you go, boyfriend.”

He couldn’t tell if Thor liked the word because he didn't or if he was simply euphoric over them making their relationship truly official, with labels and all- _holy shit holy shit holy_ \- but he decided to use it as much as he could.

“Let me bring these dishes in the kitchen, boyfriend,” and, “Your clothes are where you left them yesterday, boyfriend,” and yet again, “Don’t forget your phone charger, boyfriend.”

By the time Bruce was putting his coat and scarf and hat on he was smiling like an idiot, and the fact that Thor seemed determined to help him with the task wasn’t helping.

“There you go,” he said softly when the last one of Bruce’s coat’s buttons was fastened, looking over at him in a way that didn’t make him feel like the ball of layers he actually was, “Better not get a cold out there because then we’d have some trouble kissing, boyfriend.”

He laughed, shaking his head fondly, and made his way to the front door unhappily. He truly loved Tony and their weekly library meetings to hang out and do some ‘science stuff’, as he often put it, but he would be lying if he said he wasn't reluctant to go. Thor seemed of the same idea because when they reached the threshold, Bruce on one side of the door and him on the other, he seemed legitimately sad.

“We should do this more often,” Bruce decided, taking around his fluffy scarf, “And I don’t mean just sleeping over- although that was really nice. Just, hanging out somewhere else than Starbucks.”

Thor smiled in agreement at that, “I’ll still see you there on Monday, though?”

“Yes, unless I get buried alive in the snow,” he saw Thor’s expression quickly turn on the panicked side so he just waved a half in his general direction, “I’m kidding, I’ll be alright. Wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

That was probably a weird thing to say about a coffee date, but Thor didn’t seem startled in the least. He just smiled that fondly soft smile of his that Bruce felt like it was only reserved for him, and his heart went off again.

Lifting a hand up to pull the scarf away from his face, he stood up on his tip toes to kiss Thor and he met him halfway by leaning down, hand at his neck to support him. It was quick and chaster, a simple goodbye kiss to promise more coming the next time they saw each other, but it still made him blush furiously. So furiously that when they pulled back he hid his face again in the scarf. Thor giggled at the sight so he guessed he probably looked ridiculous. Or cute. Or both.

“See you, boyfriend,” he waved, the word still foreign on his tongue, but it didn’t leave a sour flavour in his mouth. Thor literally beamed at him, and he had to physically force himself to turn on his heels and walk away from him before he did something stupid like grabbing him by that ridiculously soft pajamas shirt of his and dragging him back in the apartment. If that’s the reaction he gets, he was willing to say the word every day for the rest of his life. Thor’s voice floated over to him as he singsonged a ‘bye, boyfriend’, and he felt like the feeling was mutual.

**Author's Note:**

> I mean, the plot might not be compelling, the characters might be a little stereotyped, the dialogues might be a bit cheesy, but boy did I have fun writing this. 
> 
> If you feel the same way about what you just read, why not leave some feedback? It’s easy, it’s free, and will feed my starving soul for the day
> 
> Also, title's from the homonymous song by The Score, y’all heard of them? You should check them out if you haven’t, they’re great, a bop after another, here’s a link https://youtu.be/bJNbeaSAU8g


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